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Saturday, January 24, 2009

Omnia vs. iPhone (Verizon vs. AT&T) update

So we're getting down to the nitty gritty here. I'm pretty sure I'm going with the Omnia (I won't say for sure until it's actually in my hand) and I'll be getting the Dare for E. I know the Palm Pre is coming out soon, and people have high hopes, but the form factor is pretty freakin' fugly, and I don't want to wait (who knows how long) for an unknown contender.

I started checking out the "reality" of various calling plans today, talking to both Verizon and AT&T reps, actual humans, not just what I could glean online (though humans are so often disappointing).

Currently we have the Nationwide Select Family plan from Verizon. Unlimited messaging, phone pics, etc... with 2100 minutes. It's $139.99.

I was planning on upgrading to the Connect Family plan ($159 for 2100 minutes and unlimited everything else: messages, e-mail, web, pics), but then I found out that to use the Omnia, you can't have the Connect or Premium plans, and you MUST add either the $30 e-mail and web pack, or the $50 unlimited data pack (like with the iPhone and ATT you have to add the $30 iPhone data pack). And yes, you read that right, you can't have the Connect or Premium family plans with the Omnia (or any other "smart" phone). You can only utilize the Basic or Select family plans.

So now we're thinking we won't even get an internet plan for E's phone. We'd rather save the $15 a month, and we'll just switch her to my EnV (which is a great texting phone, and she says that's enough for her).

This means we're looking at $169.99 a month for unlimited data on my Omnia, and then unlimited messaging, pic/vids, and 2100 minutes shared between us. And of course, the unlimited "IN" minutes to other Verizon phones, which is really what's keeping us on Verizon.

That same set up with AT&T would be $109.99 + $30 (data for iPhone) + $30 (unlimited family texting --I'm not sure if this includes the iPhone --the website text is confusing --is it really another $20 for iPhone specific texts?) for a total of $169.99 a month. The exact same (unless there is in fact an extra $20 charge for iPhone specific texting).

So I think this means we're going with Verizon and thus the Omnia wins over the iPhone. I'm cool with this considering the Omnia excels in battery life, the 5MP (really good) camera, video recording, removable SD storage, and, in my opinion, looks. I will miss the sweet, sweet flowey interface of the iPhone, and I'm sure the fact that the Omnia doesn't have a headphone jack (or a universal miniUSB port) will piss me off each and every day.

I will also point out that the Omnia II is out there, and has a faster processor (and graphics acceleration), but I don't really know much at all about the device. There's also an Omnia HD, but again, I have no information regarding that device.